Free Syrian Army Targets Innocent Civilians For Supporting The Government

By Kourosh Ziabari

07 November, 2012Countercurrents.org

Almost 18 months after the beginning of unrest and violence in Syria , the Syrian people are waiting for peace and tranquility to once again rule their homeland and their destroyed lives. The Syrian people are embattled in a war which a number of Western powers and regional states have launched against their country, and the only conceivable reason is their resistance against the expansionistic policies of Israel and NATO who want to bring Syria to its knees and turn it into a new ally for the United States in the Arab world.

The Western mainstream media have tried to portray the unrest in Syria as a continuation of the Arab Spring and the popular revolutions that swept the Middle East since almost one year ago. But the reality is that Syria is beleaguered in an erosive and unjustifiable war which the United States , Britain , France and their regional allies have waged with the complicity of Al-Qaeda and domestic mercenaries who have traded the independence and prosperity of their country with dirty dollars.

In order to learn more about what's going on in Syria and the situation in Aleppo , one of the cities where a large group of terrorists are based in, I conducted an interview with Muhammad Hussam, a 24-year-old university student living in Aleppo . Muhammad Hussam who has preferred not to disclose his full name because of the death threats he and his family received from the terrorists, explained that how the Free Syrian Army mercilessly kills the supporters of President Assad and even has set up a website in which it publishes the photos and personal information of its potential targets.

“I wish nothing but peace and prosperity for my country and my people, and I pray wholeheartedly that this crisis will be over very soon because I think we've suffered enough and we deserve a better life,” Muhammad says.

What follows is the text of my interview with Muhammad Hussam from the northwestern city of Aleppo

Q: Dear Muhammad Hussam; please tell us more about the situation in your neighborhood, Aleppo . Have you personally witnessed the operations of the terrorists and foreign-backed armed groups in Aleppo ? How has been the response of the Syrian government to them?

A: The situation in my neighborhood is better now after the Syrian Arab Army had set up a few checkpoints in the area and cleaned some nearby neighborhoods from the terrorists. Unfortunately I've witnessed the operations of the so-called Free Syrian Army and it was like a nightmare. A few weeks ago they entered my neighborhood and a few adjacent neighborhoods; they forced people out of their homes by randomly shooting at windows and balconies, sometimes even firing RPGs at residential buildings and civilian cars, of course they did all that while screaming “Allahu Akbar” and the majority of the people in those neighborhoods are Christians and Armenians. This all happened in the early morning, a few Syrian security men arrived and stopped them from advancing for a few hours, until some Syrian Arab Army units arrived and started cleaning up the area. It took less than 24 hours for those neighborhoods to be clean of all terrorists. People started to get back to their homes in the next 48 hours, unfortunately many of the houses were damaged, and the terrorists even robbed them.

Q: The opponents of President Bashar Al-Assad say that with the upheaval of the Arab nations in the Middle East, the people of Syria also began to rise up against their government and demand a regime change in Syria and the ouster of President Assad. They cite demonstrations that took place in different cities of Syria and say that thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the government. Do you agree?

A: Firstly, everyday there are more evidence that this so-called Arab Spring was nothing but a staged act by the Zionist and Imperialist forces to install several puppet regimes, which is more evident now than before, I mean the post-“revolution” regimes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen are nothing but puppets for USA and NATO, and I think the latest letter from the Muslim Brotherhood president of Egypt Mohammad Morsi to the Israeli president says it all. I'm not saying that Hosni Mubarak was any better, but it is clear now that this is just a big plan to install extremist Islamists regimes in the Middle East that promote Jihadist ideologies to actually justify a US attack on any of those countries, also to justify Israel's call for a Jewish state clear of any Arabs whether Christians or Muslims.

Secondly, I do admit that several demonstrations took place early in 2011 limited to a few places in Syria and in very small numbers with no more than 200-300 people. However, the mass media exaggerated, lied and manipulated facts in Syria all to serve the Imperialists goals in establishing a foreign intervention under any name; whether a humanitarian intervention, a UN peacekeeping force, or an international “Jihad”.

Moreover, we should never forget that every time the demonstrators asked for something they were granted what they want, but the foreign puppeteers and financers kept pushing them to ask for more. At the beginning the demonstrators asked for more rights, and for the end of the state of emergency, the President ended the state of emergency shortly after that. But the demonstrators now asked for the end of the eighths article in the Syrian constitution which declares that Ba'ath party is the leading party in the Syrian state, and the President formed a committee to change the entire constitution. So it was clear that those demonstrators were often nothing more than puppets in the hands of foreign powers who wanted no good for Syria or the Syrian people.

Q: Who are the members of this Free Syrian Army? Who is supporting and financing them? What are their objectives and goals? Why are they killing the innocent civilians?

A: From the beginning of the so-called revolution there were some armed men, outlaws and fugitives who would do anything for money; they killed civilians and security personnel every day and during every demonstration. However, when their numbers started to increase and their actions can't be hidden anymore, the so-called Free Syrian Army emerged, formed of some traitor soldiers who has abandoned the army either for money or for fame, like Abdulrazzak Tlass and Riad Al-Asaad, but most of the so-called Free Syrian Army members are nothing but outlaws, fugitives, bandits, and criminals.

It is very clear by now that they are supported by the Persian Gulf Arabs who raise funds for them on a daily basis whether in Kuwait , Qatar , Emirates, or Saudi Arabia . Also by the Muslim Brotherhood government of Turkey which provides them with training camps, hospitals, sometimes even weapons and ammunition. Qatar regularly ships different sorts of weapons and ammunition to the terrorists from Libya to Turkey, Jordan and sometimes to Lebanon, where the US/Israel friendly March 14 Bloc distributes those weapons to the terrorists and extremists on the Lebanese soil, and I think the name Okab Sakr from the Future Movement in Lebanon was mentioned a few times lately in reports about the coordination between March 14 and the FSA terrorists. One should not forget the decision taken by the Swiss government to impose more strict rules on weapons deals after Swiss hand grenades were spotted and documented with the terrorists in Syria . The Swiss government announced that those were sold to the United Arab Emirates , which in turn sold/gave to Jordan . However, we should not forget the various videos and pictures of Israeli and US ammo and weapons confiscated from the terrorists' weapons caches or sometimes documented by them themselves in their own videos.

Now that we know the main financers and supporters, we can easily know their objectives and goals. They do whatever their “employers” ask, whether it is targeting military bases, infrastructure, or even innocent civilians, and the culprit on the mass media is always “Assad's Army” or “Shabeeha”, while on most of the cases the victims are actually supporters of the government and families of government officials or members of the parliament, like the famous Houla massacre where the victims were relatives and family members of the second Syrian Parliament trustee family Abdul Muti Mishleb.

Q: A Syrian writer told me that the foreign-backed terrorists and insurgents use the homes of civilians as shelters and refuges to hide there and carry out their operations. That's why the Syrian army cannot attack them since there's a possibility that unarmed civilians may be killed, and this is the tactic they have been using since the eruption of unrest in Syria . What's your take on that?

A: Yes that's mostly in villages and some cities where they have supporters, but from what I saw in the city in which I live, Aleppo, the people immediately abandoned their homes when the terrorists entered the area to avoid being used as human shields and to avoid actually being killed, raped, or kidnapped by the terrorists who hate the people of Aleppo who have refused to join this fake revolution repeatedly.

Q: I just learned that the Free Syrian Army has created a website and publishes the pictures, mobile number and other personal information of the Syrian people who support President Assad, announcing that it will target and kill them as soon as possible. Would you please explain more about this website and the people who have been introduced as the potential targets of the FSA?

A: Well since the beginning there were pages on Facebook under various names but with one goal, assassinating all government supporters. So basically most Syrians now can't reveal their real names and other private info on social media because they will be targeted for their beliefs and political stance. I myself received a message that threatens me and my entire family because of my activity on Facebook and I had to shut my account down. The targets vary from real soldiers, to activists, to simple shop owners who hang the Syrian flag or the picture of the president inside their shops. Sometimes even people who speak up on national TV are labeled as “mercenaries” and “Shabeeha” and are later on targeted. And when during the Arab monitors' mission in Syria at least two people were assassinated for speaking to them and telling the truth.

As I've mentioned earlier, and also several of my friends and even my father have been threatened personally by phone or by other means, basically because of our stance and for not supporting the “revolution”. One infamous Wahhabi cleric called Adnan Arour has repeatedly threatened and issued fatwas from Saudi Arabia against all those against the “revolution” which gave a reason for his ignorant and illiterate supporters to murder people just because of their sects, ethnicities, or even because their IDs say they were born in certain cities.

Q: What do you think about foreign involvement in Syria and the role of countries such as France, Britain, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the exacerbation of political situation in the country?

A: Again as I've mentioned earlier, all of the mentioned states have been involved directly in arming, supporting, and financing the terrorists, as well as preventing the political opposition from taking part in the national dialogue repeatedly called for by the President of Syria. Not only that, but also they've created several “deformed” bodies under various names to actually make people think that there is a unified opposition force that can lead Syria into a “democratic” future if the President and the government fall.

Q: What's the best solution to end the crisis in Syria, in your view? What kind of political reforms should be implemented in order to alleviate the tensions and bring peace and stability back to the country? What is the role of countries such as Iran , Russia and China in solving the crisis?

A: The best solution in my opinion as well as many patriotic Syrians is a regional war that actually destroys the regional powers that are funding and supporting the terrorists, namely the Turkish government, the Qatari sheikhdom, the Saudi Royalty, as well as the March 14 Bloc in Lebanon. However, this could so easily lead to World War III due to the fact that each of the above mentioned forces have strong alliances with regional as well as international superpowers.

That's being said, it will be very stupid of Syria to start World War III where it will probably get wiped off the map. Unfortunately the situation is too complicated and has developed a lot over the past 18 months that one can't simply point out one solution and say it's the best. There are many aspects of this crisis; internal and external, national and international, political and social, economic and geopolitical. To find out the best solution that will be the best for the Syrian people one has to be aware of all of the above mentioned aspects, also has to know that any solution in Syria must be through Syria's main allies: Russia, China, and of course Iran. Those three have many interests in Syria and won't just abandon them or surrender them to the NATO/West so easily.

In the end, as a Syrian, I wish nothing but peace and prosperity for my country and my people, and I pray wholeheartedly that this crisis will be over very soon because I think we've suffered enough and we deserve a better life.